Hongshi-Shivam Cement Private Ltd, a Nepal-China joint venture company, is aiming to start cement production in March 2018, according to a senior company official.

Shiva Ratna Sharada, director of the joint venture company, told Xinhua News that construction work on the 6000tpd plant is in full swing. The factory is being constructed at Nepal's southwestern district of Nawalparasi and its mine site is located in neighbouring Palpa district.

The new volumes will primarily serve the domestic market, but exports to India and China are also in the frame should capacity be expanded in a few years' time.